Pools and Storms

I slipped half-way into the pool today, by accident! The dog behind the fence, the one that broke through the fence and attacked me, started to bark and it made me nervous so I jumped up and walked toward the fence and slipped partly into the pool, but only my right leg and part of my tail got wet! I guess I was so anxious about the dog behind the fence that I did not notice how close I was to the edge of the pool. But I am ok. It was a very warm day, so a little cool water was not so bad. On a happy note, I have slept outside twice! But last night I came back in because the dog behind the fence was out late and barked a few times, so I just went inside to feel better, and safe. On a sad note, my side-kick Silvius is not doing to good back home. He has storm anxiety. Actually, he has anxiety about a lot of things considering he was abandoned, which is how he joined our family, and he was most likely abused before being abandoned. But storms really freak him out, and lately a lot of storms have been hitting where he is living, so he has destroyed some parts of the house. If he were here in sunny California he would be ok because we don't have storms here. But he can't be here and our humans have to figure out what to do because they can't afford the damage he is causing. I know they will figure something out that will make us all happy, but in the meantime, I miss Silvius and wish the storms would stop. I am not afraid of storms. I have lived through a tornado and I was not fazed in the least! I can outrun a tornado. Or just hide in the corner of my doghouse and hope the tornado doesn't pick it up and twirl it around. But earthquakes - those scare me! I have never been in one, and I hope never to be in one while I live in California. Where do you go when it hits? Things come crashing down around you and the ground just opens up and swallows you! I don't want to live in the ground. Moles live in the ground. And ants. And snakes. And worms. They aren't any fun to chase and catch. Hey, wait a minute, don't bunnies have holes in the ground? I think they do! I guess being swallowed by the earth in an earthquake wouldn't be so bad, as long as some bunnies followed. I'm just sayin'...

Dog Fight!

I am a pretty mellow doggy. Malamutes are known to be aloof and wanderers - we pretty much mind our own business. Since moving to California I have not been too happy in my new house. The yard is not that big for me and I am surrounded by strange dogs that do not seem too friendly. Me, I love meeting new dogs and playing with doggies. I am very social that way. But last week something happened to me that really scared me. Since moving here I have found my spot in the corner of the yard and have pretty much stayed there. I do not wonder near the fence or to other parts of the yard. I just don't feel comfortable. My human is concerned. She thought I would enjoy running around the yard and exploring it so it concerns her that I have pretty much found my spot and don't move from there, except when I go into the house. The other exception is when my human cleans the pool. She walks around the pool scraping out anything that is floating on top of the water and she does this at least two to four times a day. Usually at least one of those times, sometimes twice, I will follow her around the pool. Well last week as we were on the end of the pool next to the fence the dog on the other side of the fence started to growl and bark. So I stuck my nose near the fence and wagged my tail. The dog went wild and so I started to make some noises (I am not really a barker, more a howler) and all of a sudden the dog broke through the fence and had me by the neck! I was scared and trying to get the dog off, but he would not let go and I could not reach him. My human was using the pool pole to try to get his jaws off my neck but to no avail. She was getting frantic and I was very scared and was moving around and the dog lost his footing and fell into the pool. At least it made him let go of my neck! At that same time one of the dog's owners got through the fence and dragged him out of the pool and was holding him waiting for the adult owner to get here with his leash. As my human walked me by to put me in the house the dog got loose and lunged at me and attacked me again! This time I fell in the pool, but only half way because my owner had me by the collar. We got the dog off and I got in the house very quickly! Well, I was not hurt physically because it turns out the dog has no teeth (don't ask me why!) so my skin was not punctured. But I was scared and upset! Why did the dog attack me? What did I do? I just wanted to be friends. Ever since the attack I don't like being outside alone. When the dog is out there and barks I get very nervous and run inside the house. I also have not slept outside alone since the attack, and that is hard for me because I love being outdoors and ever since my human adopted me I have spent most nights sleeping outside under the stars and moon and clouds. But now I am in my human's room on the floor under a ceiling. I also don't follow my human around the pool anymore because I am too nervous now to go by the fence. My human is very upset about this situation. She does not like to see me in this state and it upsets her that I feel so nervous in my own backyard. She is currently looking for work and worries how I will do being here alone all day once she starts working. I would like my human to be home with me every day, as I am sure most doggies would! We love our humans!! I know that not all dogs are going to be friends. And I know that not every dog will like me, and that is ok because that is life. But it is not ok when the dog attacks. There is no reason for violence. If you don't like me, ok, I can deal with that. But why attack me? Why take it out on me? I mind my own business and I let you go along with your life, so why attack me? I just don't understand. All I want to do is play and have fun! Sure I get mad sometimes. Porgy annoys me when he stands by me and watches me as I am trying to sleep. But I don't attack him - I just growl and move. And if he follows me again, which he always does, I get mad again and growl even more, and move again. But I would never attack Porgy, or any animal. Except bunnies. And only when I'm hungry. I'm just sayin'...

California Here I Am!

Sorry it has been so long since my last post but life has been so hectic! A spur of the moment decision had my human packing up Porgy and I and making a road trip to Northern California! We had to leave Silvius, which is very sad to me and very sad for Silvius too, but we could not have more than one dog. We also left Kitty, but that made Kitty happy since she was not too fond of me! Silvius and Kitty stayed with my human's brother, but I sure wish we could get Silvius out here. Silvius is terrified of storms, even if it is just rain and no thunder. Once Silvius senses from the wind and air that a storm is coming, he gets very anxious and nervous. And the closer the storm gets, the more anxious and scared he becomes to the point of becoming destructive. Silvius has done a lot of damage to the house by freaking out over storms, and now that he is out there in the country alone, I worry about him. Kansas has a lot of thunderstorms, especially this time of year. Here in California, it has been sunny most every day, except today and yesterday, cloudy and chilly. It was a fun trip! Me, Porgy, and my human in a car for four days driving down I-80. I got to see lots of new things and smell some interesting smells. I really liked Wyoming and Utah and Nevada. I barely saw Colorado, we arrived in the dark. I loved riding in the car! I had the whole back seat to myself, but I preferred to stand and look out the front window, with my head between my human and Porgy! So many great sites to see! Too bad we did not have time to sight see more. My first few weeks in California have been hard. I don't feel like this is home. We are house sitting for a family member, so we are also watching their cat and dog. Their dog is a 17-year-old Greyhound. She is so skinny but very sweet. We don't interact too much, as I am too rambunctious for her! The cat does not like me at all, but that is ok. You can't like everyone! Anyway, I don't feel like this is my home or yard, but we are only here for a few months so I will adapt for now. There is an in-ground pool in the back yard, so not much grass for me to run and play. My human loves the pool, although it has been too cold to use. I don't like water. I am a Malamute and we are not water dogs. Sure, on a hot day, I may go in a little just to cool my paws. Back in Kansas I would walk into the creek up to my belly on the really hot days to cool down. I like the creek. Lot of otter and beaver and deer around there. No deer here. I guess I am no longer an Alaskan Malamute in the Midwest but now am an Alaskan Malamute in Northern California. Maybe one day I will be an Alaskan Malamute in Alaska. I'm just sayin'...